In our Hebrew lessons, we teach quite extensively about the market (Shuk, שׁוּק). We teach about the names of fruits and vegetables and we create dialogues between sellers and shoppers. The Shuk is a real part of the Israeli experience. Therefore, I was puzzled when my seven-year-old daughter, Daphna, asked me if there are actually Markets in Israel. I realized that in our modern and timeless lives we tend to go to the convenient, close-by, air-conditioned supermarkets and avoid the wonderful experience (and deals) of the markets.

Childhood Memories

I still remember my trips to the market in Haifa (shuk talpiyot, שׁוּק תַּלְפִּיּוֹת) with my grandfather. He used to take a first round to see what the prices are and choosing where to buy the best and cheapest products. Then he touched every peach and apricot before adding it to his plastic basket. I remember the innovative songs the sellers sang to make us buy from them. I remember returning home in the bus with hands full of fresh fruits and vegetables. When I turned seven, my grandfather took me to the Shuk and stopped by a small Jewellery store and bought me the most precious golden ring with a golden heart on it. I think that this was the last time we went together to the Shuk.

Re-experiencing the Shuk

This week, unintentionally, Daphna and I found ourselves parking just next to the Market in the city of Netanya. The eyes of my daughter became wide and bright when she saw the colorful market, the fruit and vegetable stands and the sellers who actually shouted: “רַק הַיּוֹם, הַכֹּל בְּזוֹל”(“Only today – everything is cheap”). And cheap it was! The prices are so much cheaper than what we pay at the supermarket and the variety is endless. There are cheap clothes, and cheap household accessories, cheap dairy products, and cheap fish covered with ice shreds.

I explained to my daughter that the food stands in the market are called              ”בַּסְטָה” (basta). This word comes from Arabic but is used more often than the Hebrew word “דּוּכָן” (Duxan). We smelled the different scents of the market – of the spices and herbs, of the fresh fruits and the pickles (חֲמוּצִים) as if we smell the essence of life itself.

I took my camera out and we started taking pictures. A lady who has quite a beautiful Basta of pickles and cheese, dry food and spices heard that that was Daphna’s first trip to the Shuk. She volunteered to guide her through the numerous kinds of rice in sacks (שַׂקִים) and let her feel them. “Do you know that there are black rice and red rice, white rice and not-so-white rice, scented rice, long and short and round rice?” my daughter asked her brothers when we returned home. We bought a special mix of spices called the Netanya mix (תַּעֲרֹבֶת נְתַנְיָה) that would add a new flavor to our Shabbat Dinner.

We got lost on our way out but we enjoyed every minutes of getting lost and added some more products to our basket (well, plastic bags, but baskets sound more authentic…). We concluded at the Beverage stand and drank mango-melon shake and Limonana (לִימוֹנַעְנַע). Limonana is a wonderful Israeli invention (I believe) of lemonade and Nana leaves (similar to mint) blended with ice – the best way to refresh in a hot summer day!

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